Liking Oneself II: Thank You
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Toshiro decides to thank the people who took time to put the video together for him.
1. 1: Prolog

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Prolog**_

Rangiku woke up in the morning and headed to her division office to get some paperwork done. The words her small taicho said to her remained in her head. "_Foe the things you care a lot about, you put a lot of effort into._" She slipped into the office in time to see her young taicho up early, the camera still on his desk, jotting down some notes.

"Taicho?" She smiled as his small head darted up. "How are you this morning."

"Fine. Better." His teal yes darted back down to the list he was working on.

"Better... could you elaborate on that?" Matsumoto walked over so that she was standing behind him.

"Better as in... I still don't like myself, but I am going to try and start liking myself. It's rather hard. I also don't feel as depressed as I was, though not at all like I want to be." Toshiro felt her arms wrap around his neck. "Thank you for making the video, and no matter how much I complain, keep hugging me. Just don't... suffocate me in the process."

Rangiku's hand reached up to play in his soft hair. "What are you doing?"

"I owe... other people a thank you." The small boy paused, suddenly reaching up to hold onto her arm. "Matsumoto... what is wrong with Ichimaru Gin?"

"What do you mean?" The busty female found herself flinching.

"He... I saw the video. Before the Winter War, he was his normal self. Now... he's dark." Toshiro stated.

"He's hurting." Rangiku placed her chin on Toshiro's head. "He wanted to be the one to stop Aizen, just like you wanted to be the one. Except... he'd been wishing that for many, many years."

"I'm working on finding ways to thank people." Toshiro took a deep breath. "He's hurting more then me right now."

"Taicho... I kind of would rather you don't go and see him." Matsumoto stated, then added to what she had to say. "Maybe eventually, but right now he's not himself. I don't know how he's going to act.'

"He has something he wants to tell me though." Hitsugaya closed his eyes. "I don't understand why, considering I never thought of him as someone I cared much about, not like you, Momo and Granny, but... something upsets me about him being this way. I want to do something about the way he is."

"I was thinking you would say something like that." Rangiku took a deep breath. "If you do, go with caution.


	2. Letters to Them: Part I

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Letters to Them (Part I)**_

The small taicho sat at his desk, wary that Matsumoto was eying him from her own desk. He simply kept writing down the words, despite the fact they were in fact much shorter then he would have liked. However, he knew very well that there were people that he couldn't speak to personally or in fact didn't know, in his opinion, well enough.

Glancing up, he could see the worry spread over Rangiku's face. "_She really doesn't want me to go and see Ichimaru, does she?_"

"_She is worried about you getting hurt._" Hyorinmaru piped up.

"_I can very much take care of myself. How drastically major is what he needs to tell me? I mean, it's just about me not liking myself right? He's never been really serious about things, so I don't expect much from him."_

There was a pause from the dragon, and then he spoke up again. "_Ichimaru has been acting a lot more seriously lately. I don't know how to say this too, but I don't think what he has to talk to you about is something that will be easy to take._"

"_You say that because of the fact he tends to turn people's stomach with some of those jokes he pulls and the fact not many people are able to get along with him._" Toshiro placed the letters into envelopes and placed his official seal on the front. Getting up, he headed for the door.

Rangiku piped up suddenly from the side._ "_Taicho? Where are you going?"

"I am going out to talk to some people about the video." The small boy glanced at her.

He was not surprised when she spoke up again. "Are you going to visit Gin?"

"Not just yet. Matsumoto, before you ask, I don't need you to follow me. I'll be fine." The small taicho moved then out the door as Rangiku took a deep sigh.

**M**

Yoruichi walked through the Seireitei, her arms behind her head, a smirk on her face due to the fact it was a nice day out. However, boredom was at the back of her brain as she walked along. She wished that something would come along her way that would brighten up her day. As she walked along, she suddenly saw the small taicho of the tenth division walking along.

She thought nothing of it, but then heard him suddenly call out. "Shihoin Yoruichi."

At that, the woman paused and then turned to walk back. "I didn't exactly expect you to want to speak with me. Something bothering you?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could deliver something for me." Toshiro piped up. "I wouldn't ask if it weren't for the fact that I don't know how to get it to this person other wise."

"Oh?" Her eyes suddenly sparkled. "You actually think I may be able to? Why?"

"Because you are sneaky and your kind of sneaky is how this person has been able to remain hidden." The small taicho suddenly handed her the letter and she blinked a couple of times.

"You want me to deliver a letter to a dead Bount?" Yourichi raised an eyebrow.

"I _think_ you know where his dead body rests in peace" the young taicho stated, simply turning around and leaving, not letting the conversation continue that long. The female shook her head in mirth.

**M**

Go Koga sat underground, taking deep breaths and communicating with his Doll that happened to also no longer need a physical form. That was when he heard the hatch open and heard his hostess suddenly speak to someone. The sound landing of the person on their feet identified them as having cat like reflexes. His eyes open. "Good day to you Yourichi-san. What do I owe this pleasure for?"

"I have a letter for you, friend." The werecat laughed, dropping the paper into his lap.

Koga picked up the letter and saw that it was addressed from the small taicho of the tenth division. He opened up the paper and then read the words.

_To Go Koga_

_- I wish to thank you for your words of wisdom. I am thankful for the fact that while I am young, you still respect me and wish me well. If we had met under different circumstances, I think I would have been able to have called you sensei and would have liked to had the chance to work with you and learn from you._

_- Sincerly, the taicho of the tenth division  
>Hitsugaya Toshiro<em>

The Bount let out a chuckle at reading these words.


	3. Letters to Them: Part II

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Letters to Them (Part II)**_

The air around the noble estate came to the small taicho's nose crisp and fresh. His small mouth folded in irritation, trying to figure out how to approach the place, his mind completely uncomfortable with the idea of heading into that place. However, in his sleeve was one of those letters he felt the need to deliver.

He thought about simply sliding it through the crack in the small door, when it suddenly opened and caused him to jump. A young man who was slightly taller then him opened, an obvious person of the novel class. At that, Hitsugaya found himself pausing. The young man had shaggy brown hair and let out a rather meek greeting. "Hello... can I help you?"

"I just wish to leave a letter is all." Toshiro paused, suddenly holding it out to the young male.

"That letter... it is for?" The young male paused.

The small taicho simply narrowed his eyes at the young man. "It is for Kasumiojii-san." His teal eyes watched as the boy looked him up and down warily.

Then, letting out a sigh, the boy spoke up. "I should have known despite the fact that I am her fiance, she would have other suitors." However, as he said that he suddenly pulled away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "That isn't what that letter is about..."

"Still... you should deliver it yourself." The young man stated, suddenly heading back in. He turned to look at Hitsugaya. "Aren't you coming?"

Rather reluctantly, the small taicho followed after the young man, the only information he had on him being that he was Rurichiyo's fiance. At that, Hitsugaya let out a deep sigh, hoping this all would be over in a matter of seconds. He followed the young man to a sitting area and then was beckoned to wait Kasumioigii's fiance to get her.

She came into the room, her own teal colored eyes bright like her blond hair. She sat down in front of him. "You are?"

"Isn't it obvious that he is the captain of the gotei thirteen? He's the tenth division taicho to be exact." The young man spoke up.

"And he is here..." The small female blinked her eyes a couple of times.

"I just came to deliver a letter." Toshiro stated, pushing forward the envelop, frowning at the small female, wanting to shake his head at the small oddity in front of him, but restraining himself from reacting.

The small female opened it up, and then choose to read the letter out loud. "_I understand that you do not know who I am, or even remember the event in which you heard about me. Only part of my name was mentioned. Matsumoto Rangiku was making a video..._" At that she paused. "Oh... you're that person. You honestly could be, with your eye color and pale hair, be a long lost member of the Kasumiojii family."

"Umm... yes..." Toshiro glanced at the ground at this.

"This is what this is about?" Rurichiyo's fiance spoke up

"_... making a video for me. Though your words may not have seemed like much, they did in fact mean much to me and I wish to thank you for them._" The female paused. "So, does this mean you want to be part of our family?"

At that, Hitsugaya blinked his teal eyes a couple of times. He was caught slightly off guard and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "I don't mind you wishing for me to be a part of your family, but..."

However, Toshiro found himself quickly interrupted by the small female. "I like having a brother added to the family!"

"But..." The small taicho blinked a couple of times, holding up his hand while the head of the Kasmumiojii's fiance simply smiled at the female's antics.

"Hmm... you wouldn't happen to be interested in someone? I mean, you wouldn't happen to have someone you are engaged too?" The female asked rather quickly, a serious look spreading on her face.

"No... what... why?" Toshiro's face paled, while the fiance blinked a couple of times, his normally emotional features showing the slightest case of confusion showing through.

"Hmm... who then would be good for you to become engaged to?" The blond female crossed her arms. "As a captain and an honorary member of my family you can pretty much marry any girl you want."

"That isn't true." The small captain commented, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I think the laws would prevent me from marrying someone from the living world who wasn't dead yet."

"Someone from the living world who isn't dead yet?" The female suddenly slammed a fist into her palm. "I got it, you can marry Kurosaki Yuzu."

"What..." The taicho simply stared. "You didn't listen to anything I said. And why try pairing me up with the twin of Kurosaki that I don't know well? This makes no sense at all."

"_I think it is hysterical._" His dragon laughed.


	4. Letters to Them: Part III

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Letters to Them (Part III)**_

Eventually, the small taicho was able to get away from the noble house, his nerves strained from having to deal with the exuberance of the female head. The sun was setting as he headed to his next destination, which caused his muscles to relax and his mind to wander as he stepped down the dusty road.

Eventually he came to the small graveyard, which stood quite, much like the last time he happened to visit. He stepped through the rows of gravestones and eventually came to the one he was looking for. Glancing down, the blade he had placed near the grave was no longer there, which caused him to let out a sound of disgust.

"Grave robbers. If I had my way, I would have had it buried with him a long time ago. I wonder why anyone would even think about taking it, when it is useless to anyone broken as it is." His teal eyes took in the grave, remembering the fact when Shojiro had his funeral, he couldn't go to it under orders from the Gotei Thirteen.

A good deal of the events involving his friend had been bittersweet. There were all those memories of them spending time with each other, competing with each other. Well, it was more of a competition for his best friend then him, but that was another matter. Shojiro also had a lot more faith in Toshiro then the small taicho had ever had in himself.

A nice cold breeze blew by and Toshiro took a letter and fixed it so it simply wouldn't blew away. There wasn't much he could say, as there were things that he didn't wish to talk about, and things that Shojiro already knew about. So, he wrote out a rather simple, almost childish letter. Then again, his old friend wouldn't have cared that it was childish, which was what made him such a great friend.

_Kusaka Shojiro ~_

_I am sorry that your death happened. It is something that I never wanted to happen, nor something I wanted to see. I wish to thank you for always being there and always telling me that I could achieve great things, despite the fact I never believed in myself. I regret not having the ability to spend more time with you. I might be a different person that way._

_~ Hitsugaya Toshiro_

As he stood up, he suddenly found a blade pressed against his throat. His eyes darted to the right and saw that one end was broken, and then his eyes darted to the left, recognizing the hilt of a very familiar zampaktuo. "Would you care to explain why you share the same zampaktuo as my brother?" A female piped up from behind him.

"Do you realize to this day, I am still asking myself that question?" Toshiro stated lightly, not bothering to push the blade away.

"Then you did in fact know my brother back from the academy days." The blade was withdrawn and suddenly the female moved beside him and reached down and picked up the letter from under the rock.

"Oi. Reading private letters is seriously rude you know. As is taking the offerings left for the dead." The small taicho snapped his words out as she opened up the letter.

"Yet you didn't have the respect to write down your rank into the letter." The girl, who was much taller then him muttered, opening it up. "Don't you owe him that much respect, to use your full title?"

"Why? Kusaka Shojiro was one of the few people I ever have allowed to call me by my first name with out chiding him for it I wouldn't have let him use my title, if..." At that, the young male paused. "There is no point in speaking of ifs that would never be."

"You speak strange for a child." The female stated, glancing at the letter. "Why is it that you appear to be close to my brother, but I never saw you at his funeral. Why did you wait to drop of his broken zampaktuo until recently? Are you not his friend?"

"Do not repeat this, but the reason I didn't come was because I was under orders from the forty-six not to come near your family, not to mention what happened. I didn't have anything to drop by until recently either. I never thought I would ever meet a member of his family." Toshiro then paused for a few seconds. "Also, I am no _child_."

"My brother could have gone places. He was supposed to have come home to visit us around the time he died, but choose to stay at the academy, so we figured it had something to do with graduating. He never did graduate."

"It is likely no consolation for what happened, but I fully understand that he should have gone places. Many times I wonder why it was him, rather then me that died that day." The small taicho made a quick bow and turned to leave, only to have his shoulder grabbed roughly.

"So you're just going to leave?"

"If you're looking for answers about what happened that day... well, as I told you, I don't know why we both ended up with the same zampaktuo. I don't know why I was the one to live and he wasn't. I do know that this subject isn't something I like talking about." Hitsugaya watched her carefully. "Do you wish revenge on me?"

"Shojiro spoke of a friend and that being the reason he was staying. A very important friend. A few people who attended the funeral, they said that said friend likely had something to do with his death, but no one dared approach to ask why. Everyone was nervous about talking about the subject." The female stated, refusing to let go of his shoulder.

"Why wouldn't they? The forty-six was involved." Toshiro glanced away.

"Everyone knew that the subject had been hushed up, but this is the first I'd heard it was because of the forty-six. I thought that there was something about his friend, that made people fear him and that was why no one spoke up about it." The female tried to turn the small taicho around.

"That isn't exactly the first time I've invoked that reaction, so that would honestly not surprise me if that was the reason no one approached me about the matter. I would have been honest at the time about the fact I wasn't allowed to speak of it, but I don't think I would have gotten this elaborate about why, including who barred me."

"The thing is, I honestly don't understand why anyone would fear you. Now that I think of it, what the people were showing may not have been fear of you, but of the circumstances behind it. Not many things get hushed up by people."

"Tell that to the villagers where I grew up, they think otherwise." The small taicho turned to look her in the face, a frown plastered on his small face. "Is it revenge you want?"

"Revenge?" The female paused. "I had thought about it, when I saw this zampaktuo simply sitting there. I felt it was cruel. But the strange thing is, you may claim to not be a child, but physically you are one. You had to have been pretty young when you entered the academy."

At that, Toshiro let out a deep sigh, his face turning away from her. "Youngest captain, youngest to ever enter the academy. People think it is absolutely amazing, I think it is a pain."

"Because you don't get to be a child anymore?" As the female said this, the small taicho turned to her, his teal eyes filled with surprise. At that, he reached into his uniform and handed her something. She took the wooden piece in her hand. "This is?"

"A pass to get into soul society. I can't guarantee that I will be up to answering your questions if you come and visit the tenth division, or if I will be there, but a good deal of my division, due to recent events along with a few others know about what happened back then. They won't say anything, but they'll give you another pass if I'm not there."

"Arrigotto..." the female muttered, looking at it.

"Word of advice... don't use that zampaktuo as your own. There is a reason you only hear of one person ever having one zampaktuo. Also, I did want to go to the funeral." The small shinigami made a bow to her and then the grave. "I need to be leaving now. Shinigami... we aren't supposed to show emotion." And with that, he disappeared from her site.


	5. Self Reflection

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Self Reflection**_

A good deal of the "thanks" needed to be dolled out, but due to how late it was at night, Hitsugaya Toshiro instead returned to his division and headed strait to his room, collapsing onto his bed, his body heavy and stiff from exhaustion. He simply stared at the ceiling, rather then changing into his night ware.

As he stared at the ceiling, his dragon hummed in his ears and he decided to close his eyes and go into his inner world. "Hyorinmaru..."

"It is always good to see you young one." The dragon appeared before him, huge and magnificent.

"Thank you for always being in there and believing in me too." The young shinigami responded.

At this, the dragon lowered his head so that it was touching the small shinigami, resting lightly on top. "There is no need to thank me for something that should come naturally for any zampaktuo."

"Am I too hard on myself though." Toshiro asked.

Hyorinmaru chuckled suddenly at the small taicho. "Yes, you are too hard on yourself, despite the fact you are right in the idea that you don't have to like everything about yourself. There must be something deep down that you do like about yourself."

"I wish someone had said about myself that I can like about myself. Why did so many people spout off things that I really do hate about myself." The small taicho let out a deep sigh.

"I don't really understand that myself, as I understand the reasons behind why you dislike those things." The dragon simply remained there, talking slowly to the young shinigami. "Perhaps it has to do with the fact that there are positive things about those things you hate about yourself too."

"Like my looks?" Toshiro let out a disgruntled sound. "Seriously, my looks always got me looked down upon in the village, why should now be any different?"

"They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Take Matsumoto Rangiku for example..." The zampaktuo found himself quickly interrupted.

"Hold it, hold it, hold it." At this, Hitsugaya sat up, knocking the dragon back. "Listen to me. Matsumoto thinks of herself as pretty and such, so what does this have to do with the conversation. She's very picky about such things."

"Then what does that say, when she says she likes the way you look." The dragon gently nudged the small shinigami from behind.

"She's always picking about what I wear and the fact that my hair is a mess." Toshiro muttered, his cheeks puffing out.

"Yet she doesn't say things about your hair and eye color." The next words from the zampaktuo caused the small taicho to pause. "She did also say she likes the hair and eye color. Sure, other people didn't like the way you look, and others may well in the future, but in her eyes, she simply frets as any person who cares and worries about another does. Didn't your granny always fret over your messy hair too."

At that, the white haired youth found his cheeks flustering up at the comments. "What ever. I still hate my height."

"As she pointed out, you are still growing, so don't worry so much about it. You'll make yourself sick and then she'll be pestering you even more, trying to get you well again." The dragon laughed suddenly. "Also, she doesn't care that you messed up. She is one of those people who is very leniant on people's pasts and doesn't choose to hold it against them. You are the same way... that is, with everyone except yourself."

"Hai, hai..." The small taicho let out a deep breath, just as Matsumoto's voice suddenly caused him to be pulled out of his inner world.

The busty female glared at him from the sliding doors between their two rooms. "Taicho... I know you like talking to your zampaktuo, but goodness sake, it is late and you and I both need our sleep. You'll fret a lot less about your height if you acted in a manner healthy for your body." There was a slight pause at that point. "I love you, and good night."

Two teal eyes simply stared at her, while she waited for a response that at first simply couldn't come. Finally, the small taicho stated what he wanted to say. "Good night." There was a slight pause, and then he spoke up again. "I love you too, because you're family." At that, she smiled at him and closed the door, while he flopped back down on his bed.


	6. 6: Ran to Gin

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Ran For Gin**_

The forth division smelled clean, yet there was also that smell of sterilization as Matsumoto Rangiku stepped into the room and glanced over at the silver haired man who was sitting up in the bed, staring at the window as a cool breeze blew in. As she stepped into the room, he suddenly spoke up, realizing she was there, without turning his head towards her. "I am not really up to visitors, Ran-chan."

The busty female simply pulled a chair over, ignoring the worded request and sat down. "I'm not going to let you avoid the world, Gin. I care about you to much to let you do this."

The man remained silent for a short period of time. "There are some thing that I have to say to you, that when you find out about them, that you won't want to be near me."

"I doubt whatever you have to tell me is worse then betraying Soul Society," Matsumoto stated, a smile splaying across her face.

"To me, betraying you and Hitsugaya Taicho's trust is far worse then betraying Soul Society." The man finally turned his head towards her. "I promise, I'll explain things once I explain things to him, but I also promise you aren't going to like that."

At that, Rangiku paused, a frown spreading across her face and her eyes narrowing in frustration. However, she finally took a deep sigh and decided to take another approach to things. "Gin... taicho is possibly going to be coming to see you soon, to find out what ever it is that you wish to tell him."

"You don't look like you are happy with the idea that he is going to come and see me." Ichimaru's head turned away, his eyes slightly open and an obviously fake grin on his face. "Then again, I am not excited about him coming and seeing me either."

"How can you say something like this? One minute, you're spouting off that you have something important to tell him, and the next minute you're talking about how you don't want him to come and see you." The female folded her arms across her ample chest.

At that, Ichimaru turned his face towards her, pain evident in his pale teal eyes. He remained silent for a few minutes, and then spoke up. "Honestly, it isn't because I don't want to see the kid. I'm not looking forward to telling him what I need to tell him."

At that, Rangiku set her arms to her side and let out another side. "Look, you could have just said something positive to him over the camera and not bothered with telling him whatever it is that you wish to tell him, until you are better and ready to tell him."

At that, he suddenly turned his head away from her. "Do you really think that is possible?"

Matsumoto paused for a bit, her lips pushed thin by her frustration. "I am not blind to the fact that the only reason that you are still in the forth division is because you are depressed due to your guilt. Are you trying to tell me whatever you need to tell taicho happens to be something you feel guilty about?"

"Go ahead and tell me to grow up, if it bothers you that much." Ichimaru took a deep sigh.

"What bothers me isn't the fact that you are being childish about this. Actually, knowing you as well as I do, I am not surprised that you are beating yourself up mentally about this whole thing." Rangiku's words suddenly snapped out. "What bothers me is the fact that you have to drag taicho into this."

"You'll understand later when I explain things too you. Though I doubt you'll wish to speak with me after I finish speaking to you." Gin's eyes focused on the window as the fall air scented through the window.

At that. Rangiku moved from the chair, to sitting next to him, placing one of her hands onto his far leg and her face moved closer to him. "I told you, I doubt that what truth you have to tell me will be enough for me to push you away." She waited for him to speak up, but when his silence remained, she spoke up again. "Are you going to push me away?"

At that, Ichimaru flinched, words still not coming from his mouth. Matsumoto watched his face carefully, as well as she could with it turned away. "I guess I may as well tell you upfront about my feelings. I am in love with you, whether or not you reciprocate my feelings. I don't want to just be friends with you, like our relationship has been like. I believe you know what I want."

At that, the male turned to look the woman straight in the face. "You want the truth about my feelings on this matter?"

"That goes without saying, doesn't it?" Rangiku watched him, her face garnering a pained look. He didn't at first speak up, so she added something. "I promise to listen until you finish."

"I honestly do love you, but I don't feel I can reciprocate your feelings in the way we both want." Gin then continued. "You honestly deserve better Ran-chan. I want you to be happy and safe. As I said, when you find out what I need to tell you, you'll push me away."

Silence filled the room and then Rangiku leaned forward, her lips touching Ichimaru's. She closed her eyes while he simply didn't move, his reaction not coming, his motions and emotions dulled. She then pulled away from him. "I'll tell you again, I am not going to give up on you. I'm also not going to back away simply because you're having a guilt trip. I'm not going to let you push me away anymore, or let you run away. That is a fact."

**M**

The time to deliver the the _Seireitei Communication _came around and Hisagi began to do his rounds of the different delivery spots. His last spot was to drop of Unohana Taicho's issue and then he headed down the hall way, passing by the room that Ichimaru Gin was staying in, his mind not paying much mind to that fact.

Shuhei couldn't help but pause when he heard Rangiku's voice coming from the room. He moved to the side and heard her words come out from her own mouth. "_I guess I may as well tell you upfront about my feelings. I am in love with you, whether or not you reciprocate my feelings._" This caused the ninth division fukutaicho to pause as he listened in on the conversation.

As his chest seized up, he couldn't help feeling hurt that the busty female didn't have feelings for him. He also somewhat wished that Ichimaru Gin would turn Rangiku down, having a selfish wish that she would come to him, but he felt like kicking himself for having such thoughts. It also hurt hearing Gin's words, something about the truth and being pushed away.

At that point, he turned and glanced into the room and saw Matsumoto kiss the other man, and then he backed off and began to walk slowly away, frustrated at the fact that the woman was in fact in love with someone like that man. Ichimaru Gin had never been someone he had understood. Well, then again, he had his doubts that anyone did.

As he walked along, feeling down, he didn't notice someone walking behind him, until he heard them call out to him. "Hisagi-san?"

Hearing the voice of the female, who had been walking faster then him, he turned to look at her. "Good afternoon to you, Matsumoto-san."

"You're delivering the _Seireitei Communication_, aren't you?" Rangiku smiled at him, her mood having lightened up.

"Yes, I just finished my rounds." He paused for a second, then spoke up again. "I apologize, but as I passed Ichimaru Gin's room, I heard the two of you speaking. I also know this is the wrong time for this, but I think I should be frank about the fact that I am interested in you."

"Actually, I've known that for some time." Matsumoto glanced away, discomfort playing across her face. "I have to apologize that I can't reciprocate your feelings, but for some reason, I think you already knew that."

"Something bothered me about the two of your conversation." Shuhei stated, suddenly watching as Rangiku looked him eye to eye, expecting him to say exactly what bothered him. "Why would he be worried that you would push him away? What could be worse then thinking he was a traitor to Soul Society?"

"I think he's just being too hard on himself." The female replied, then took a deep breath as she glanced away. "Whatever it is, it involves both me an taicho, which is what really bothers me, that he is getting taicho involved."

"You are worried about your small taicho, aren't you? Hitsugaya is rather good about taking care of himself." Hisagi stated, watching as Matsumoto turned to him to protest, only to have him hold up his hand. "I know. He's still not old enough to handle everything on his own. What are you going to do, if Ichimaru-san hurts your small taicho with what he has to say?"

"Well, depending on if it is simply taicho throwing a tantrum, or if Gin's words really hurt him..." Rangiku paused.

"I think you need to think about that being the reason that Ichimaru thinks that you will push him away." Shuhei commented, holding his chin suddenly. "Is there anything else you can tell me about this?"

"I would rather you not pry into this." The female sighed, scratching her head. "It feels like you are still trying to win me."

"You mean like I feel that I would still have a chance if he hurt your taicho so much that you would have to push Ichimaru away. While I admit that I _want _you to push him away, I am more of worried about the fact that Hitsugaya Taicho may get hurt. It would have to be pretty bad, for you to give up on Ichimaru."

At that, Rangiku paused. "I doubt it is really something that I would consider pushing Ichimaru away. I think it is only in his head that it is on that kind of level." At that, Matsumoto let out a chuckle. "Actually, with how much taicho and him think, they may both end up simply being upset because they took things to seriously."

"Then you shouldn't worry about letting Hitsugaya Taicho talk to him, right? Hisagi muttered. "I mean, if it is something small like that."

"I wish that was the only though process going through my head." Rangiku choose then to close her eyes. "I know this sounds weird, but the way Ichimaru has always talked about taicho, it has always come across as he really cares about him. I almost feel as if he's always felt the same way about taicho that I have."

"Pardon my asking, but does that have some reason to do with why you were Hitsugaya's fukutaicho, rather then Momo becoming his fukutaicho or you Ichimaru's?" Hisagi's question came quickly.

"Well, I doubt that Hinamori would have ever left Aizen's side. She is way to brain washed for her own good. By the time taicho became, well... our division taicho, Gin already had Kira. It does though play into the reason _why _taicho selected me of all people to be his fukutaicho, but... Hisagi... really, this is rather private."

"You mean your and Ichimaru's relationship. Our your and Hitsugaya Taicho's relationship?"

"I think it is time you stopped pressing the matter." At that, Rangiku politely bowed, and left the man to stare after her, a slight longing in his eyes.

"_I don't think you should give up on her. That man was cruel to her about the whole thing._"

"_I know he was. I honestly wonder what she sees in that man. However... I can't be blind to her feelings about this whole thing._"


	7. Cliff Side Breeze

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Cliff Side Breeze**_

After finishing up the morning division work, Hitsugaya Taicho set out on his thank you errands. The cool breeze rustled his white hair as he headed up to the area that the small monument was built. His small feet made little noise as he moved up the path. Upon reaching the top, he made a quick bow to the two markers.

He then moved over to one, which had dried, white poppy petals blowing away from the cross. He took a piece of paper and tried to tie the paper down, only to have it blow from his hand, ripped open as the breeze suddenly picked up. At that, he found himself turning and running after the note, not noticing that two figures were moving up the path lower down.

Frustration caused his cheeks to puff up slightly at the fact that he was chasing a piece of paper like an idiot child. His hand reached out to grab the piece of paper as he came to a place that had a foot or two drop, only to have it blow out of his reach by a short amount just as his foot stepped over the edge without realizing where he was placing his footwork.

At that point, he suddenly found his body plunging to the ground, his teal eyes suddenly going wide from shock. As his foot hit the ground, his ankle suddenly bent in the wrong direction and he went down, just as the strap of his sandal also broke. The pain jolted up his spine, causing him to wince. Slowly, he attempted to move his foot from underneath himself.

"Hitsugaya Taicho? Are you all right?" A loud voice came to his ears. This caused the small taicho to glance up to see Komamura Taicho looking down at him, a worried expression on his canine face.

At that, Toshiro/s eyes turned to see that Hisagi Shuhei was in fact with hi, the paper that he had been chasing blow straight into his face. The man moved it away from his face and suddenly muttered. "_I know that you did not like the fact that I became a taicho at such a young age, but it wasn't my choice to ever become a shinigami._"

"Hisagi!" At that, the small taicho stood up, or attempted to. As soon as he put weight onto his one foot, he suddenly went down. "Give that back!"

"What exactly is this about?" The fukutaicho of the ninth division shook the paper at him. "It is important if you were willing to make a fool of yourself to rescue it."

"Because I hadn't..." At that, the small taicho clenched his jaw shut. "Just give it back, _sempai_."

"Sempai? Oh... this has something do do with the video Matsumoto made for you?" The fukutaicho raised an eyebrow at the small taicho.

"Hitsugaya Taicho? Were you leaving this letter on the memorial?" The big male stated, suddenly scooping Hitsugaya up and setting him down so that he was sitting on the small ledge in the landscape.

"That isn't possible as it would be impossible for Tosen Taicho to have been on the video. Matsumoto-san didn't start the project until after they had all let." Hisagi piped up, his mouth set into a scowl.

"Actually, Tosen is on the video." The small taicho glanced at the ground as the palms of his hands rested on the edge of the natural landscape ledge. "I don't know how, but Ichimaru _borrowed _the tape for awhile."

"What exactly did he say to you?" Sajin sat down next to the small taicho, his interest suddenly perked.

"He_ don't thin that _I_ should have been made a taicho. But that doesn't have to do with _my_ lack of skill, it has to do with the fact that a child shouldn't have to be faced with the evils of the world. _He pities_ the fact that someone didn't stop _me_ from entering the academy when _I_ did._" The small taicho then glanced away. "That is what he said."

"Did he really say something like that?" Hisagi suddenly found himself scratching his head, confusion written on his face.

At that, Toshiro let out a small cough. "I _may have not joined the academy until after _you _graduated, but when it comes to the academy, _I am _still _your _kohai._ You _head all about _my _moving up from _Hinamori, Abarai _and_ Kira _and got to meet _me _while _I _was still in academy, though _you _admit _I _may not remember that_." There was a small pause. "I actually remember meeting you, believe it or not."

At that, Shuhei paused and blinked a couple of times. "You... remember all _that _from the video? That is... rather impressive..."

The seventh division taicho blinked a couple of times in surprise. "I don't quite follow."

"_Truth be told, _Komamura _barely knows _Matsumoto's _small taicho_. You _do know, looks don't matter one bit. It is what is inside ones heart. _I'm _a very loyal young man to the causes _I choose._" _Toshiro's eyes continued to look away.

Sajin suddenly found himself laughing. "My... those were my very words."

"Hitsugaya Taicho, please don't do that again. That was kind of... creepy..." Hisagi took his own turn to sit on the other side of the small taicho and grabbed the foot that had twisted about half a foot above the injury and lifted it up.

"I don't know why I do things like that, and that is one of those things that come. Sometimes, there are things I just wish I can forget, like a lot of what happened recently. It feels like there was a time I just could forget, but that I've lost that gift for some strange reason. Actually, it feels like there is this memory in the back of my head, the one thing I managed to forget, that is threatening to shake lose."

"That is something that Tosen would say." Komamura taicho laughed. "You shouldn't have taken his words seriously. His reason for not wanting you to be a taicho, is because he doesn't like the idea of the young dying before their time."

"If I die as a shinigami, it won't be before my time, so while that can be said about the others my age, it can't for me." Two teal eyes watched, not to mentioned narrowed shut as the small taicho winced as Hisagi moved his foot around, feeling for the damage.

"You sound like you are giving yourself honors above the other young shinigami." Hisagi stated, carefully removing the sandal as Toshiro felt a jarring pain.

"I need to walk back you know." Hitsugaya snapped out. "It will be a pain to put that back on.

The canine taicho laughed again. "Won't it be hard to walk back with a broken sandal?"

Shuhei shook his head and began to remove the small sock. "That is actually what I would have thought and would have lectured you about, if it hadn't been for what I read a few minutes ago. You do know that Momo is under the impression that you joined the academy of your own free will."

"I know that, Hisagi." The boy glanced at his ankle, which was already starting to bruise up.

"She thinks that you left out of youthful spirit, forgetting about the two of your grandmother." The ninth division fukutaicho shook his head at the small taicho's foot.

"Gomen, Hitsugaya Taicho, there is no way either one of us are going to let you walk back on that, not to mention our healing kido isn't as good as the first divisions." The other taicho's voice barked out, causing Toshiro to wince and look up at him.

"All right, all right. I'll place myself in your hands." Toshiro turned his teal eyes towards Hisagi then. "Are you trying to tell me that I should tell Hinamori the truth about why I joined? I can't... it will only hurt her more then her thinking that I abandoned Granny."

At that, Hisagi paused for a few seconds. "Matsumoto Rangiku was right about you and Ichimaru Gin taking thing too seriously, when it comes to thinking that the truth will hurt someone you care about. Honestly, what could be worse? You may think it is worse, but Momo may not. And this is despite the fact that she can look a the world in a very obtuse way."

"Really." The small taicho suddenly found himself spitting out his words. "I _had _to join the blasted academy _because _my reiatsu was killing my _grandmother._ You may think me entering so early was absolutely amazing, but I honestly hated it! I wanted to be taking care of her and yet..." A calming hand from either side was placed on his shoulders.

"You haven't told very many people about this, have you Hitsugaya?" The huge taicho's words caused Toshiro to suddenly look up, revealing the fact that his eyes were moist, but not yet forming tears. "I personally think, this is something that you should tell Hinamori Fukutaicho, as the two of you are family."

"Plus, if you let it eat at you, you'll end up like Ichimaru Gin is now." Hisagi piped up, still staring at the small taicho's foot, the corner of his mouth twisting up at the sight.

"He's really that bad?" The small taicho suddenly spoke up, a slight bit of concern in his voice.

"I just know what ever has him this bad is about you and Rangiku, and he is thinking like you are right now, that she will push him away." The man felt his mouth twitch. "Goodness knows I want her to push him away, but that is simply being selfish."

"You two wouldn't be a good match anyways. No matter how mad she gets, she's always going to be thinking about him, and only him. She'll also use you as her slave, something she doesn't do with him, and something you don't deserve." Toshiro picked up his foot and set it across his own lap, frustration spreading across his feet. "All I wanted to do was put the letter on the grave..."

At that, Hisagi glanced at the sky, his mind pondering things. "I wonder..."

"Nani?" The small taicho's eyes suddenly brightened up, only to wince as he shifted his foot without realizing it.

"You are sometimes to curious for your own good," the other taicho suddenly laughed.

"I was just thinking that maybe it wasn't Rangiku he is worried about hurting, considering she has been through a lot with him." Shuhei turned towards the small taicho and saw the look of confusion on his face and let out a deep breath. "I mean you, Hitsugaya Taicho."

"Me? The only person that Ichimaru Gin has ever shown signs about caring about is Matsumoto Rangiku." The small taicho let out a deep laugh. "Anyways... since the two of you are here, I might as well thank you for what you said in the video." At this, both of the older males suddenly glanced at Hitsugaya.

The first was to speak up was the other taicho. "Do you understand what I meant about looks not mattering, and that what really matters is who you are?"

"It is like how I don't care what you look like, and how I know you don't care what I look like." The small taicho found his mouth twitching at this. There was short pause, and then he spoke up some more, glancing at the ground. "Truth of the matter is, the only people who liked being near me when I was younger was Hinamori and my grandmother."

"How come I never heard of this from Momo?" Hisagi raised an eyebrow.

"There was a lot she never noticed when we were younger, a lot I never told her either." The small taicho glanced at the ground. "They still don't know, because I've asked Hinamori not to say anything, that I am a taicho."

"I am guessing it is because you want them to like you for who you are." Komamura stated firmly. "I guess you understand very well that it is the inner self that matters the most. That's how you know your true friends, is because they judge you by that, and will tell you when you do wrong and try to set you on the right path when need be, not by the way you look, or your rank."

"It is like how I still think of you as my kouhai despite the fact you out rank me too. I have fond memories of hearing Momo talk about you, and even meeting you after you joined the academy. Your village honestly didn't know what they were missing, by not getting to know you." Shuhei laughed, suddenly standing up. "I am going to go and put this on the marker."

While Hisagi stepped away, Toshiro glanced at the ground. "It must be hard for Matsumoto and Ichimaru for her to be his only friend. No one else ever bothered getting close to them, did they?"

"A lot of people thought he was trouble simply by meeting him the first time." The canine faced male glanced at the sky. "Don't guilt yourself, as there are plenty of us that are guilty for not ever trying to befriend him. You are also younger then the rest of us and he wasn't of your peer group. A good deal of us aren't blind to the fact that you struggle befriending even your own age group, and it isn't because you were a bad person."

"I never thought of Gin as a bad person, or distrusted him until I saw him chatting with Aizen like that. He was Matsumoto's friend, and I trusted him not to ever hurt her, and that was enough for me. I never hated him either, he was simply an annoyance who would play pranks on me and call me those stupid nicknames."

"So you never felt threatened by him when he was around?" Shuhei came back. "A good deal of people felt threatened simply by being around him, myself included."

"I've heard from Kuchiki Rukia that she felt like snakes were strangling her." Toshiro glanced away. "And Kira Izuru was always nervous because that man was around. I always felt weird that I felt comfortable, even safe around him." At that, the small taicho frowned. "Now that I think about it, even when I was fighting with him before he left soul society, I didn't really feel like my life was in danger, but then, I was furious at him because Hinamori was in danger."

The small taicho suddenly found himself lifted up onto the other taicho's shoulder. "Your foot is changing colors faster then I personally like and if we don't get you to forth division, all three of us will have something to fear from Unohana Taicho."


	8. Home Stay: Part I

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Home Stay (Part I)**_

The view from way up high on Komamura's shoulder was very different from the view he usually had from down low. While he wouldn't outwardly admit it, he liked the change of pace when it came to his view point. His teal eyes glanced down and watched as the path quickly moved beneath the bigger taicho's feet.

They came into the forth division and the large canine faced male stood in front of the desk, looking down at the blond haired third seat. Iemura suddenly pushed up on his glasses and looked up while he was writing in his journal. "Apparently the big monster of a taicho, Komamura Saijin has graced us with his presence. He is hard to move due to his size."

"I'm not your patient." The bark caused the man to jump.

"Your reading your journal aloud again." Hisagi frowned at the lower ranked officer, not at all pleased at having to deal with him.

"Weren't you just here making deliveries?" The man continued not to look up, his lips pressing together in frustration.

"We have to make another," Shuhei stated, his words filled with a bit of dislike for the situation. He pointed his finger to indicate that the man needed to look up. Toshiro began to fidget as the pain in his foot had truthfully grown, something he honestly didn't wish to admit.

"Hitsugaya Taicho." The blond man pushed his glasses up. "Note to self. The whole place is going crazy when I see two captains acting like the taicho and fukutaicho of the eleventh division. Why is it that I have yet to reach the rank of fukutaicho."

"Because you have no respect for those around you!" The small taicho snapped out his words starling the two who brought him in.

"Histsugaya..." The other taicho repremanded. "I know that his words were not kind, but you need not be rude yourself."

Toshiro offered no opology, but simply stated what came to his mind. "He's calling you nutters when he is for no seeing what is right in front of his face."

"What exactly is he talking about?" The man paused for a few seconds.

At that, Hisagi pointed at the small taicho again. "Why do you think we would be delivering him to you?"

At that, Iemura pushed on his glasses again while he wrote in his journal. "Hitsugaya Taicho seems to have done something childish as his foot seems to be rather bruised up."

"Oi..." At that, Toshiro felt his bright teal eyes narrowing at the man. "I am _not _a child."

At that, the man's head snapped up. "Well... yes." Getting up, he motioned for them to follow him and he led them to one of the rooms and Hitsugaya found himself set down on the bed. "Someone will be in here to see you shortly."

"Shortly?" The taicho of the seventh division snorted through his nose, irritated at this result. He then turned his head towards the white headed taicho. "How are you doing, Hitsugaya Taicho?"

At that, the young one glanced up, his teal eyes a little dull compared to the norm. He opened his mouth, then paused. "I am guessing I I told you guys that I'm fine, that you wouldn't believe me at all, right?" He then closed his eyes. "It hurts quite a bit, but I can wait until someone gets here."

As he opened his eyes, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Soifon walking by. She passed the door, only to come back and poke her head into the room. "Hitsugaya Taicho is actually in the forth division without being passed out to get there?"

Toshiro felt his cheeks puff out, only to have the seventh division captain let out a laugh. "I think saying no to me would not be a good idea. Plus... his injury is pretty bad."

At that, the second division taicho slid into the room and shook her head. "What the hell happened to you?" Instead of getting an answer from the small taicho, he simply glared at her. "What is his problem, it isn't as if he was doing something childish and got hurt."

"Yes... well..." Both of the older males suddenly found themselves looking at the small taicho, who simply looked at them wide eyes with confusion.

Eventually Hitsugaya shook his head and then spook up with his eyes directed at the sheets on his bed. "I was chasing a piece of paper and miss stepped."

"So, you're saying that Matsumoto hasn't been doing her job again?" Soifon commented. "What I do with my lazy taicho when he doesn't do what he is supposed to do is beat him across the head."

At that, a horrified look spread on Toshiro's face and his jaw dropped open at what she had told him. He then looked away, glaring this time at the wall. "I wasn't chasing paperwork."

"Hitsugaya Taicho was visiting my taicho's memorial." Hisgai stated as he sat down next to the small taicho. "He was simply leaving a letter there."

"Well, that isn't childish." Soifon glanced at the small taicho, who returned to glaring at the female. "All right. What ever is the matter? I can't honestly think of anything that I did that would make you angry at me."

"I planned on simply leaving you a letter too." The reply came after a period of silence and then it simply hung there.

The second division taicho finally turned to the other two in the room. "He means by this?"

"I mean that _stupid _video Matsumoto did." Toshiro found himself flinching, wishing that someone would come to take care of his foot.

"That video about what people like about you? I said that I thought you had potential with the Onmitsukido. What was wrong with that?" Soifon placed her small hands on her hips. "Now you're being childish!" As he continued to glare at her, she turned her head towards Hisagi. "I'm honestly not used to dealing with him."

"Me?" Shuhei found himself blinking a couple of times and then he turned to look at the small taicho while scratching his head in confusion. "The only thing that Matsumoto asked on that video was what people liked about him."

At that, Soifon let out a deep breath. "Only question my ass. You mean to tell me that she and that other female didn't ask you a second question?"

"What other question?" Komamura's interest suddenly perked up.

The small taicho's face suddenly chanced, his eyes going wide. He waved his hands, indicating that he didn't want the subject brought up. Soifon let out a deep sigh. "What, is the person you have a crush on Hisagi Fukutaicho? You know he has a crush on your fukutaicho, right?"

At that, Shuhei found himself turning slightly green, while Toshiro's entire body tensed up. The seventh division taicho thought for a few minutes, then spoke up again. "Then that is the reason why he said Hisagi doesn't stand a chance with Matsumoto Rangiku as long as Gin is around?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho said that?" Soifon turned her head towards the small taicho, amusement on her face. "I did tell you in the video that it is natural for children to take an interest in their own sex before they start taking notice of the opposite. You don't need to be ashamed of that."

At that, Hitsugaya reached into his uniform and pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to her, crumpling it as he did. "Here. This was for you anyways."

The small female took the piece of paper and opened it up and her amusement left. "All it says here is _baka_. You didn't even sign it."

At that, the confusion of the two other males in the room disappeared and the suddenly began to chuckle. The small taicho folded his arms across his chest. "I am not _gay, _like you are."

At that, Soifon's reiatsu flared, causing Hisagi and Komamura to flinch. "Excuse me? I am not gay. I just simply admire Yourichi-sama very much. The only reason I can think of for Rangiku to be asking such a question of all the female shinigami is because she is worried about your sexual development. You haven't taken an interest in girls yet, have you?"

This caused Toshiro to glare at the female again. There was a moment of silence and then he spoke up. "_She _wasn't the one to start asking the question. Inoue-san was. If she were to ask such questions, it is because she believes I have a crush on Kurosaki K... K..."

Hisagi watched as the small taicho suddenly palled, his cheeks also reddening at this point, having a problem getting out a word that started with the 'k' sound. The second division taicho beat him to the punch though. "You have a crush on Kurosaki Ichigo?"

At that, the small taicho's cheeks turned even redder. "No! I have a crush on... I don't have a crush on K... K..." There was a short pause and he took a deep breath. "No matter _what _Matsumoto tells you, I do _not _have a crush on Kurosaki's younger sister."

The ninth division fukutaicho raised an eyebrow at this. "His younger sister has a name, right."

"It's K.. K..." At that Hitsugaya found himself puffing out his cheeks. "It is his younger sister!"

"You know what my first name is, right?" Hisagi asked suddenly.

"It's Shuhei. What of it?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times, his composure returning to normal.

At that, the fukutaicho and the seventh division taicho glanced at each other, both having a good idea otherwise. Soifon though spoke up about what she had heard. "So... you're trying to tell me that you don't have a crush on this girl, yet you can't say her first name."

At that, Toshiro's face reddened again. "I hate you."

At that, the second division taicho reached out and nudged his injured foot.

_Author's note – Ice Prince Hitsugaya noticed that Toshiro calling Hisagi "sempai" was out of character for him. Originally the sentence read "clammed up" verb wise, and I decided to change it to"clenched his jaw shut". "Sempai" was italicized to indicate that Toshiro was not using the word in a polite manner of tone. He was not at all happy with Hisagi at that point in time. Also Ebbie54 was kind enough to point out an error in the last chapter. :D_


	9. Home Stay: Part II

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~**_**Home Stay (Part II)**_

When Soifon nudged his foot, a jolt of pain surged up the small taicho's spine. This caused Hitsugaya to let out a loud yelp followed by a quick whimper while his teal eyes ended up tearing up. As he fought off his tears, the taicho of the forth division stepped into the room, glancing at the frost that was spreading slightly from the small taicho.

"If you don't mind, I would like to treat Hitsugaya Taicho. He will be less stressed with the fewer people here." At that, Soifon simply left, while the other two bid their farewells to the small taicho. Unohana pulled up a chair and gently touched the foot. "Now how did you come to have this injury."

"I stepped off a ledge without realizing it." The small taicho muttered, glancing away as he bit his lip. "I am sorry to cause you trouble like this."

The female simply began to use healing kido on the small taicho's foot, causing a cool sensation to float up his foot. "This is my job, so don't worry about it."

At this, Hitsugaya turned his head back to her. Remembering what he was tasking himself to do he took a deep breath to say what he felt to say to the female taicho. "Unohana Taicho..."

However, when Retsu glanced up, her face was not smiling, her serious look appearing loud and clear. "Yes?"

"Uhh..." At that, the small taicho found himself glancing away.

"I am not mad at you, Toshiro-chan. I merely don't like seeing it when you are hurt." The female stated, her voice smooth and calming.

"I am really sorry." Hitsugaya blurted out.

The female simply didn't speak up for a few minutes, while Toshiro glanced away. "You were having an interesting conversation with Soifon taicho and the others when I came in."

"You mean... about that?" The small taicho let out a deep breath, his cheeks flushing up slightly.

"Take this from my professional opinion. It is completely normal for someone your physical age to start liking the opposite sex. Understandably, it is an embarrassing feeling and it is the kind that will feel childish and immature at first, but you'll come to understand it better when you get older." The female continued to maintain her professional demeanor.

"Doesn't..." At that, the small taicho paused. "_Doesn't liking someone mean that I'm a pervert, just like Hisagi and Abarai?_"

"You should know by now that I am here to talk to, when you have questions about growing up and such." The female stated.

"_I can't tell her that, it is embarrassing._" Toshiro let out a deep sigh and glanced away. "It is weird you know. Finding out that my former taicho is the father of Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Yes. That was a surprise for myself, that... and finding out that he had two daughters." The female continued her healing kido and some of the bruising had faded, but not by much. "You've met them. What are they like?"

"Actually, I've only met one. K..." Hitsugaya closed his eyes as he paused with his words. "The one I met is nice. She didn't choose to judge me, like many other people have in the past. She also likes playing sports and is very strong. She's they type who, if she can, will take care of herself. She has strong reiatsu like her brother and also has the need to protect that which she cares about."

At that point, Isane came into the room, carrying a tray with her, which she set down. At that, Unohana leaned forward to whisper something in Toshiro's ear. "Believe me when I say, it isn't liking a girl that makes you a pervert. It is how you act upon that crush and how you treat and respect said girl and other females around you. You are a very respectful young man, don't you ever forget this."

"I brought the bandages." The fukutaicho of the forth turned to look at the small taicho. "That looks to be pretty bad."

"I wouldn't have had you bring the supplies for casting if there wasn't a break." Unohana smiled at the other female. "Would you poor Hitsugaya Taicho some water and give him the medicine."

"It... is broken..." The corners of his mouth suddenly twisted up in dismay.

"Unfortunately, yes." Suddenly there was a pause in what she was doing. "I know you dislike the fact that you are still growing, but from a medical perspective, this is a good thing. You are going to be out of your cast a lot sooner then an adult with the same break."

"Oh..." Toshiro took the cup from Isane along with the pills, swallowing them despite the fact that his face twisted up in disgust. "These are going to make me drowsy, aren't they? So I am not going to be able to do my division paperwork."

"I doubt that you will be able to do much paperwork, what with your foot being in as much pain as it will be either." The female remained calm. "Better to dull the pain and let it heal properly and take a time to relax from your work, don't you think?"

"I'm being put onto medical leave, aren't I." The corners of his mouth began to twitch. "Haven't I missed enough work already?"

There came no reply to his questions, the answer being obvious on the first and the second not being very important to her. She simply began to bandage up his foot, which caused him to frown and cause his eyebrows to rise up. He took the medicine and soon he found himself rubbing his eyes as the medicine took effect, though he could feel the pain leaving.

As Unohana was finishing up the bandaging, a soft voice came from the doorway. "Shiro-chan?"

At that, his head darted up, only to sag back down slightly as he noticed a familiar face looking at him with a worried look on her face. "Hinamori?"

"Hisagi-san told me you were in the forth division." The female walked over to the small taicho and sat down on the bed next to him.

"Yes..." The small male blinked a coupled of times, then his eyes narrowed as something finally clicked. "It's Hitsugaya Taicho, remember?"

At this, the younger female turned to her eldar only to have the female taicho smile at her. ""I am sorry Hinamori Fukutaicho. He is heavily medicated at this point."

Momo simply turned toward Toshiro, not saying anything to him at first, but as Unohana continued to apply the cast to the small taicho's foot. Finally though, she found the courage to speak up. "This means you don't have to work anytime soon, right?"

"Of course. It goes without saying that I am going to put him on medical leave."

"Now you say it..." The small taicho folded his arms across his chest, his cheeks puffing out. "I can still do paperwork."

"Not if you are on pain medicine. It is likely you won't be acting like your normal self." Unohana stated, just as Toshiro's head suddenly titled to the side as his body tried to fall asleep, only to snap back up.

"So then, Shiro-chan can take the chance to visit Granny? We haven't spoken with her for some time now." Momo stated.

"Ne..." Two teal eyes glanced at the small female, slightly glazed over. "How am I to do that if my foot is in a cast? It will take awhile to get used to the crutches."

"I'll get Kira or Abarai to help then." Momo smiled at him, closing her eyes as she did so.

"What are they going to do. Carry..." At that, Toshiro paused for a few minutes, and the spoke up. "Hinamori, that won't work. It can wait a few days, right?"

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea though, you going home to rest up a few days and getting used to using the crutches." The female taicho smiled.

"Home..." At that the boy paused, closing his eyes and thinking for a few seconds. The then spoke up slowly. "Isn't... tenth division... also home?"

"Really!" Momo folded her arms across her chest. "You can be so stubborn about things. Plus, you just need someone to carry your bag for you, right?"

"That's..." The small taicho blinked. "Do you know how long it is going to take to get there? I always go and get there early in the morning, and then stay all day and leave late in the evening." His face also paled. "Please..."

"Come now. I am giving you the order to go home to rest up a few days. You should take my advice." Unohana shook her head as she finished the bandaging. She then gently pushed the small taicho down onto the bed. "You need to get some sleep."

As the female walked away, Toshiro saw Momo sit down next to him in a chair. "Seriously Shiro-chan."


	10. Home Stay: Part III

_Author's note – The bad news is I've misplaced all my notes for this particular story, so it isn't going to be the way I wanted it to be and how I update is going to be sketchier then I would like. Yes... that's exactly why I haven't updated in two years._

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>****_~Home Stay (Part III)~_**

The sheets in the forth division were soft and comfortable. Toshiro found himself wishing that he could simply stay in the room and not have to worry about being carried back home to visit his grandmother. He awoke as someone nudged him awake. The small taicho opened his eyes part way to see Kira looking at him. "We need to get you ready to go Hitsugaya."

The boy closed his eye's and instead choose to bury them with his arm as his mind wanted to continue to sleep. Kira shook his shoulder again. "Come on, we're going to be going and seeing your granny. Don't you wish to see her?"

Toshiro opened up his eyes, his mouth creasing into a frown as he peeked from underneath his arm. "Go away. I want to sleep."

A louder male voice came to his ears and caused him to become more awake then before. "Come on Hitsugaya Taicho. We need to get going."

"Maybe it would be better to just let him sleep. You can go back to sleep." Kira spoke up.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Toshiro recognized the voice of that person as being Momo's and he took a deep breath as his body and mind began to drift back to sleep. He felt himself suddenly lifted up from the bed, causing him to open his eyes. Through the blurriness he could see that one of the people happened to have reddish hair, but his eyes snapped shut again as he felt himself carefully placed on the person's back and lifted up.

His foot hung down while his chin hit the persons back. H e opened his mouth to protest, but the person stood up and the movement caused him to drift back to sleep, though before he completely fell asleep he found himself hearing Kira speak up about how he had been right about the idea of letting him sleep be easier.

Toshiro woke up again sometime later, his body sweating as well as the pain coming back to his foot. He could also feel drool coming out of his mouth and absent mindlessly wiped his mouth on the cloth under his mouth. The movement he felt as well as the ache caused him to open his eyes. His eyes blinked a couple of times from the bright light.

"What's..." The boy tried sitting up, only to realize that he was being carried on someone's back, someone with red hair. "Why is... what the hell is going on!"

"Now you wake up?" Renji turned his head to look at the small taicho. "And thank you for drooling all over me in your sleep. Nice job there."

The boy balked and his chest tightened as his mind raced to try and figure the situation out. "What is going on!"

Momo's voice came from the side. "Don't you remember? We're going to visit granny."

Two bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times as the pupils attempted to adjust to the light. Toshiro's head turned to the side and he felt the breath in his lungs draw short, while his voice suddenly cracked from the panic he was feeling. "_Why_ am I wearing my haori?"

The small female blinked a couple of times at him. "Because your a taicho. It's part of your uniform."

"Baka!" The boy began to fidget while Renji attempted to keep a grip on the child prodigy. "It's broad daylight! I never go to grannies during the day. I always go early in the morning, or in the evening, or I don't go in my uniform!"

"So?" Momo shook her head.

Toshiro began to twist about in an attempt to remove his haori. "You don't get it!"

The boy moved wrong and suddenly felt him toppling backwards while Renji tried to rebalance himself. Thankfully Kira stepped up behind and quickly pushed Toshiro back. "Hitsugaya Taicho. You shouldn't fidget like that. The last thing you need is to injure yourself anymore."

"I _want_ it off!"

"Stop acting like a baby." Renji's eyes rolled back in frustration.

"You..." The boy swallowed. "I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't."

"Seriously, calm down!" The fukutaicho of the sixth division spoke then to Kira. "Help me get him to the ground."

The two somehow managed to get Toshiro sitting by the side of the road while he glared at them, taking deep breaths. Renji backed off slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Seriously? Do you have to be such a brat?"

Kira pulled the bag off of his back. "Do you need more of your medicine?"

"Hell no." The boy crossed his arms across his chest while Momo stared at him, a rather confused look on her face.

The red haired shinigami turned his head towards her. "Do you know what his problem is?"

"No, I actually don't know what his problem is."

"I _want_ my haori off!" The words came out of Toshiro's mouth unrestrained.

"No." Renji in turn glared back.

"I'm _going_ to take it off."

"Are you an idiot? I don't care if you out rank me on this, you're being stupid."

The small taicho suddenly took a deep breath before folding his arms across his chest. "I want it off."

Kira took a deep breath before kneeling down to remove the haori from the boy's back. Renji however shook his head. "You're just going to let him throw a tantrum?"

The blond shinigami frowned. "Better to humor him right now."

"Excuse me?" Toshiro's shoulders tensed up. "If you guys had waken me up _before_ we left then you wouldn't be having to deal with me putting my foot down." Silence followed this comment as Toshiro looked from one fukutaicho to another ."What?"

"You're going to put your foot down?" Laughter began to pour out of Renji's mouth.

The small taicho's eyes narrowed at the fukutaicho. "Shut up. Just shut up."


	11. Home Stay: Part IV

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>**_**~Home Stay (Part IV)~**_

No one was in a good mood as they proceeded on their way to the small house where Toshiro and Momo's granny lived. Renji ground his teeth as he carried the grumpy child taicho on his back. The boy had insisted that the haori be placed into Kira's medical bag, causing a worried expression to cover his as well as Momo's face.

The two choose to walk ahead of the other two, the silence allowing the nature around them to be heard. The female fukutaicho walked with her arms folded across her chest. Finally she spoke up. "I honestly don't know why Shiro-chan is acting the way he is."

"Don't worry about it. It's likely because of the medicine he's under." The blond stopped short upon seeing two young adults come out from a house near by the one they were heading towards.

Momo's face suddenly brightened and she waved her hand at the two. "Tec-chan! Ac-chan!" Kira's mouth turned up upon seeing the two figures and watched how they at first reacted in a rather sociable manner, but froze suddenly. The small female introduced the two. 'This is Tatsukichi and Ayumi. They're childhood friends of Shiro-chan and mine."

Kira watched as the two suddenly flinched when Momo said _Shiro-chan_. Glancing back, he found himself able to trace their gaze back to Renji and the small taicho. To his surprise Toshiro was peeking around the red haired shinigami, almost as if he were trying to hide from the supposed friends. The blond shinigami felt himself take a deep breath before making a quick bow.

"It's a nice to meet you. I'm Kira Izuru, fukutaicho of the third division and this is Abarai Renji, fukutaicho of the sixth division."

Renji moved up, his eyes narrowing at the two almost as if something about the way they were acting bothered him. The two took an apprehensive step backwards. Momo noticed the reaction and waved her hands. "Don't mind Abarai. He's actually very nice despite the tattoos."

The two glanced at each other. Ayumi was the first to speak up. "Momo-chan's so amazing getting a fukutaicho position like she did."

Tatsukichi however couldn't stop looking at Toshiro, and finally his Adam's apple bobbed down. "When did your little brother become a shinigami, or is he just borrowing shinigami robes for some reason?"

Kira's eyes went wide while Momo's jaw dropped. The small female glanced back at Toshiro, her eyes asking what she should say.

"What do you mean by that? Hitsugaya is a..." Renji found his mouth suddenly covered by two small hands, preventing him from speaking further.

Tatsukichi backed up slightly, his eyes still on Toshiro. "We need to get going. Our mother wished for us to run an errand."

Ayumi balked a bit, before turning after the boy. "Ahh... yes... the errand."

The two then hurried off. Toshiro released his grip on Renji's mouth and the red headed shinigami headed straight into the old woman's house. "What the hell was that all about!"

"Abarai!" The small taicho's voice strained. "Don't go barging into grannies house. At least announce your presence before you enter."

The sixth division fukutaicho turned his head to see a little old lady sitting there smiling at him. "I'm sorry."

"No. It's all right. Toshiro, you're over reacting."

Kira came into the room and bowed his head at the old woman. "I'm Kira Izuru. We brought Hitsugaya Taicho home to visit as he's had an injury and Unohana Taicho's told him he needs a vacation."

"I see. Toshiro's told me a lot about you two." The woman stood up. "Momo-chan, will you help me get some water for our guests."

The old lady shuffled out of the room, followed by the small female shinigami. Kira walked over to Renji and helped the small taicho to the ground. The red haired shinigami turned then to speak to the boy. "All right, what was..."

Kira interrupted the other fukutaicho. "Why did your granny say she's heard a lot about us from you? Shouldn't she have heard about us from Momo?"

Toshiro's bright teal eyes glanced away. "There's only ever been one thing Hinamori's talked about when she's come home."

"Aizen..." Renji took a deep breath. "What is up with you not wanting anyone around here to know that your a shinigami, let alone a captain? Wouldn't they be proud of you as well?"

"Proud..." The corner of Toshiro's mouth twisted up. "Don't make me laugh."

The red headed shinigami reached out and grabbed the boy's hair. "I don't care that your a taicho, what..."

"Renji!"

The red headed shinigami glanced up, realizing that the old lady and the granny had returned. The old woman went and sat back down. Kira folded his arms across his chest. "Hinamori. Why didn't you bring up the fact Hitsugaya is a taicho?"

"Shiro-chan..." Momo glanced at the ground.

The old woman spoke up. "Made us promise not to tell anyone he was a shinigami, let alone a taicho."

Kira paused, his eyes darting to Renji. He then took a deep breath. "I have to get some supplies. Will you help me."

"Um... sure." The small female followed the blond out of the house.

The red haired shinigami let out a deep sigh as he let go of Toshiro's hair. "What the hell is going on. I asked you before. Wouldn't your village be happy to know one of their own became a captain."

The boy's head suddenly darted down so he was looking at his lap and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "That is under the assumption they ever considered me one of their own in the first place."

Renji leaned back, frowning as he did so. "Shouldn't we have heard about you being ostracized by your own village. I mean, surely Momo would know about the way you were treated."

"Not if they didn't say anything around her. You heard how those two called me her brother in front of her? Well, it's different when she's not around."

"What do they say?" The red haired shinigami shook his head.

"That I have no right to call her my sister."

Renji narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Hitsugaya Taicho, how bad is the bullying?"

Toshiro's head shot up. "I wasn't bullied!"

"Yes you were."

"Bulling involves physical harm."

"So there wasn't one time that it escalated to physical harm?"

"Their..." Toshiro paused, his eyes glazing over. "What do you mean by escalated? If it isn't physical, it isn't bullying."

"Stop lying to yourself. Calling you names, ignoring you. That's all bullying. How bad was it?"

The boy swallowed, before glancing away. "I'm a non-entity here. People want to interact with me as little as possible. There was no physical abuse though."

"Was there no physical abuse, or did you just forget?" Renji snapped the words out, watching the boy suddenly flinch. He then turned his head towards the old woman. The worried look on her face caused him to take a deep breath. He turned back and smiled at Toshiro. "Never mind. Don't you think telling them that your a captain would change their opinion of you?"

The boy glanced again at the ground. "And what... have them worship the ground I walk upon, but not care about who I am as a person. In case you haven't noticed, I hate my powers. The only good thing about them is Hyorinmaru. He's always been there."


	12. Home Stay: Part V

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>**_**~Home Stay (Part V)~**_

Kira knew when he saw the look on Renji's face that the red headed shinigami would try and figure out what was going on with the small taicho. However, they both knew that it might not be a bad idea to get Momo out of the small house as it was quite apparent that she hadn't a clue about why the small taicho had made such a request. "I have to get some supplies. Will you help me."

The small female taicho perked up at this and followed him out of the house. Kira though couldn't help but think to himself as he walked along. "_I think it is strange for Hitsugaya Taicho to make his family promise not to tell anyone else in their village of his achievements. As the youngest to ever graduate the academy, as well as the youngest to ever learn Bankai and become a captain, the village would be very happy to know of such an achievement._"

"Is something the matter?"

Momo's comment caused Kira to realize that he had been frowning. "No, I was just thinking about something."

The two continued to walk along and the blonde shinigami glanced around taking in what was around them. The two shinigami passed a few villagers and he found himself noticing that they were gossiping, glancing at the two as they did so. Something though told the shinigami that they weren't talking about him, but the small taicho.

Finally they arrived at the stand and Kira began to place the order. Momo glanced around, her eyes wide and not really paying attention to things around her. The shop owner kept looking at her and finally spoke up. "Momo-chan... about your brother."

Momo turned back, her eyes bright and a smile on her face. "What about Shiro-chan?"

"I thought your brother simply up and disappeared, but rumor has it that he's actually become a shinigami. We never heard about him going through the academy though. When did that occur."

Kira felt his eyebrow raise up. "Hitsugaya Taicho graduated the same year as Hinamori and I."

Silence fell over the place, before the man shook his head. "Surely Momo-chan would have told us. There is no way that..."

"Shiro-chan made me promise not to say something." The small female shinigami's face twisted up into a pout as she turned towards Kira with her hands on her hips. "You _knew_ I made that promise."

"I on the other hand made no such promise." Kira shook his head as he took his change.

"It's not possible." The man repeated again.

The blond shinigami let out a deep sigh. "Hitsugaya Taicho made third seat as soon as he graduated and then took over as taicho after..." The fukutaicho of the third division paused. "... his taicho disappeared."

"Did he do something to his taicho?"

"Of course not!" Momo's cheeks puffed out. "Shiro-chan was horribly distraught when his taicho didn't come back. He waited for days." The man's mouth clamped shut, but there was a visible flinch upon hearing her next words. "And it isn't as if he's anything like Ichimaru Taicho."

Izuru payed for the items and started back to the house with Hinamori. After getting a short distance away he handed her the items he had purchased. "There are some more things I need to get. I'll be back before Hitsugaya Taicho needs his medicine again."

The female blinked a couple of times and smiled. "I'll go check up on how Shiro-chan's doing."

Kira turned then and headed back, this time appearing from the side. His voice startled the man. "What does Ichimaru Gin have to do with Hitsugaya Taicho. You seem to know something that we don't."

"Momo-chan isn't here to hear any of this?"

"It doesn't matter if she is or isn't really. The only reason I waited until I'd sent her back to speak to you was because she seems unaware that something is wrong and I don't know if she needs to be dragged into this yet."

"That man's the person who left the boy with the old woman." The man stated firmly.

Kira found his head suddenly turning. "Wait... Hitsugaya Taicho died and came to Soul Society. How can Ichimaru have dropped him off."

"I don't know where you heard that from, but that monster of a child was dropped off as an infant. Put it together."

"You're saying that Ichimaru Gin is Hitsugaya Taicho's father?" Kira shook his head. "So the reason why you treated him like a monster is because his father was one? He's nothing like the man, he's more like Mat... su..."

"You paused, so you must realize that child is a monster like that man. And anyways, strange things have always occurred around that child. There is this thing that followed him around when he was younger. And then there was the time that one man drowned in the river. The boy showed up back at his grandmother's house soaking wet."

Kira frowned. "Don't make the assumption that I came to the conclusion that he is a monster. Far from it. I have a good idea who his mother is if Ichimaru Gin is his father and he is more like her then he is that man. I would know as I had to spend many years as his fukutaicho. This is a case of you not giving him a chance because of your own cowardly superstitions."

The man then stepped back towards house. "Let's also face the real reason you don't want Hinamori knowing about this is because you know that she would tell you what for and make it clear that you're wrong about him. She is after all the closest one here to him."

"So you're going to tell her?"

"And risk her telling Hitsugaya Taicho the supposed truth about his father and mother? Yeah right. He's been through enough. He doesn't need to know that man's his father as his self-esteem is trashed as it is. And while he wouldn't mind knowing that woman is his mother, there is the fact she hasn't said anything to him at this point."

Kira then continued. "The main point though is this. His own village disowned him despite the fact he did nothing wrong, so when he achieved great things he in turn disowned them. I'm off as I have better things to do."


	13. Home Stay: Part VI

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>**_**~Home Stay (Part VI)~**_

"He's always been there."

Renji felt the corner of his mouth twist up and down upon hearing this from the small taicho. He then let out a deep breath while closing his eyes and scratching his head. "Why don't you get some sleep. I'll take a look outside to get an idea of where everything is."

"Whatever." Toshiro closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest while he leaned against the wall.

"Toshiro..." The comment from the old woman caused both of the male shinigami to look at her.

"Sorry... I'll get some sleep." Toshiro turned his head back just in time for Renji to turn back towards him. The older shinigami stepped out of the room and two teal eyes turned to look at the ceiling before closing. A few minutes later he heard the sound of children in the yard, their laughter catching his attention.

"I heard the monster that used to live there is back." One of the small taicho's eyes opened and he let out a sigh before closing his mouth.

"Monster?"

"You know... the older kids and adults talk about how their used to be a monster that lived there."

"Yeah right, monsters aren't real."

"Really... I dare you to go in and see the monster." This comment caused Toshiro to let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah... well, if I have to go and see the monster you and everybody else does too."

"What... you're kidding me, right?"

"Oh come one. There shouldn't be any problem." A third voice came about, this time female. "I doubt there is anything like a Hollow in there that would eat us."

Another female voice came, this time even younger. The child speaking had some problems with the words, but what they said was very clear. "Yeah. If it isn't a Hollow, it isn't a monster. Every body knows that Hollows are monsters and if there was a Hollow here the shinigami would take care of it."

"See?"

"Wait! Chiho! Get back here!"

There came the sound of a child breathing roughly as said child ran across the ground. The sound of two small hands hitting the edge of the door frame came as well as the sound of the child climbing in. The sound of the other children could be heard coming after the child just as the sound of her crawling closer could be heard.

A small hand touched his sleeve, causing his eyes to snap open. Slowly he turned to look at the smile child who had a look of awe on her face. The next words out of her mouth surprised her. "Are you an angel?"

"What?"

Two wide eyes looked up at him, obviously awestruck by the sight of him. Her small hands kept a grip on his sleeve. "Are you an angel?"

At this point the other children came forward, peeking in. One of the boy's spoke up. "Wow! A shinigami!"

The first one that had spoken up now spoke. "He's not much older then us."

"Actually, he looks to be the same age as Tomoya." The second boy spoke up.

The boy in question simply narrowed his eyes, while the older girl who had been with them suddenly turned to look towards the outside. Renji's voice came booming at them. "Hey! What are you doing!"

The first boy to speak up once they had gotten into the house suddenly turned and pointed at Renji. "Monster! Run!"

All of the children suddenly took off running while the youngest remained clutching Toshiro's sleeve. The older female came back and grabbed her before taking off again. The smallest girl spoke up. "Are you a hollow. You're not wearing a mask, but you got strange marks."

Renji came in, his arms folded across his chest. "Are you all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your own village has bullied you since you were little. Rangiku wouldn't have made that video for you if you had more self-esteem. I think your problems stem from..."

"Stop it." Toshiro interrupted, his teal eyes glaring at the shinigami. "I wasn't bullied. Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about there." The boy remained silent. "Plus... you're only saying that because you see me as an obnoxious little brother and you're looking for a fight with someone. You think you can use me to justify you getting into a fight."

"Say what? Where did that stupidity come from?" Renji scratched his head.

"You said '_it is hard to think of something nice, for someone you see like an obnoxious little brother, who tags along where ever you go. It's been that way since academy._' Which by the way..."

"Where did that come from. I never said that."

"Yes you did. I have the video to prove it to back at my division."

"Oh..."

"And by the way. I didn't ever follow you around. The only reason I hung out with you guys at times was become Hinamori dragged me along despite me telling her I didn't want to go."

"Oh."

"Do you have anything else to say?"

"Not really." Toshiro leaned back and looked at the wall, thinking that would be the end of it. "I don't care what you say about not being bullied when you were younger. I know you were."

"Abarai... don't go there!"

"Go where?" Momo popped into the room. "By the way, Kira will be back in a bit."

"Did you know that he was bullied by others in your village?"

"What has Shiro-chan been telling you? He never was bullied when he was younger. I'm not even sure why he would make up such lies."

"What..."

"I told you Abarai. I wasn't bullied. It's just a misunderstanding Hinamori."

Renji stood up, storming out of the small house, only to bump into Kira. The blond frowned. "What ever is the matter with you?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho is being such a brat."

"What did he do this time because of the medication he's on?"

Renji blinked once before glancing back at the house. He grabbed Kira's arm and dragged him away from the house so that those inside wouldn't hear him. "I don't think it's the medicine that is the problem. He's insisting that he wasn't bullied as a child simply because there wasn't any physical abuse, but I know full well that everyone outside of that family unit treats him as a monster."

"So pretty much you're not mad at him, your mad at the people who bullied him."

"No. I'm mad at him as well. He accused me of trying to pick a fight with them and using him as a reason to go and pick a fight."

"Your personality doesn't exactly help matters." Kira frowned. "From what I heard though the abuse at one point escalated to the point it was physical. Apparently he almost ended up being drowned when he was younger."

"What stopped..." Renji shook his head. "Hitsugaya Taicho said there was no physical abuse." He then took a deep breath. "The old lady didn't want me to push the subject."

"Probably because Hitsugaya Taicho's forgotten about it already. The entire village remembers though because a man ended up drowning that day instead."

"What? Did that man rescue him and then fall back in?" The red headed shinigami shook his head.

"No. I think that man was the person who was trying to kill Hitsugaya Taicho and someone stepped in and killed him instead."

"Who? Wouldn't be people be calling the man a hero for saving one scrawny little kid."

"Not if this man was my former taicho."

Renji's mouth dropped. "Ichimaru? Please tell me that you're pulling my leg."

"That's one of the other things that the village remembers that Hitsugaya Taicho doesn't. They've also made the claim that he's also the son of Ichimaru."

Yeah right. He would know whether or not Gin was his parent or not. He'd be having nightmares about it as the guy is a creep."

"Or is that the reason he doesn't remember? I'm going to ask his grandmother later, once he's asleep and Hinamori isn't around."

"Why not while she is around?"

"Because she doesn't know anything about this. Not only has Toshiro avoided telling her, the village has as well."


	14. Home Stay: Part VII

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~****Home Stay (Part VII)******

A later point did not see like it would be coming anytime soon. Momo remained glued to the small taicho's side as did the grandmother, thus Kira didn't know when he would be able to approach the old lady about whether or not Gin really was the boy's father, as well as if there had been an incident where Gin had killed a man because said man had tried to kill Toshiro when he was younger. The tension in the air was also thick and he felt as if saying the wrong word would cause things to fall apart completely.

The sound of snoring caused Kira to look over to the side of the room where Renji was only to see that the fukutaicho of the sixth division was taking a nice nap. The red head's arms were tucked behind his head and his sleeves pulled up. Kira let out a sigh and looked around, his lips pushing together. "_What did Hitsugaya Taicho and Hinamori do to pass the time why they lived here?_"

The blond took a deep breath and was about to look away when his eyes suddenly caught sight of one of Momo's friends looking into the house. "If I remember correctly Hinamori called you Ayumi."

The girl blinked a couple of times before stepping out. In her arms was a bundle and her mouth was twisted up into a frown. "Our house mother asked that I bring this over since your brother isn't feeling well."

Kira watched as the small taicho stirred from where he was sleeping and then sat up on his elbows to look at the girl. Despite being in bed the boy was still in his uniform. His eyes were narrowed with a rather bored look and his head titled to look at her. Momo on the other hand went over to where her friend was, a smile on her face and her eyes lit with excitement. "Why don't you come in Ac-chan?"

The other girl hesitated, but then sat on the edge taking off her sandals. Renji stopped snoring and opened one eye, his mouth pushed shut. The girl then went over and greeted Momo and Toshiro's grandmother. The small boy settled back down into the bedding, his eyes still looking at the girl as if something felt off. He then looked towards the door, his frown deepening. Momo unwrapped the package and found some simple sweets in the package. The fukutaicho of the fifth smiled at the other girl. "This is really sweet of your mother. By the way, where is Tec-chan?"

"Ah... Tatsukichi? He's actually outside. He didn't want to come in." The girl looked at her hands, suddenly startling when Toshiro looked her right in the eye, her eyes darting away almost as if there was fear there. The boy looked away, turning over onto his side so that he couldn't see her.

Momo blinked a couple of times. "Come on Shiro-chan. Be nice."

Toshiro simply remained silent. Kira found himself standing up. "You know, Renji and I are going to step outside and speak with your friend and get to know him."

"That would be nice." The female fukutaicho's voice was quite chipper.

"Wait... we are?" The red haired fukutaicho looked at his companion. Even though he got no response he proceeded to stand up and go out of the room with him to see that the young man was standing there.

Kira frowned, noticing the boy's nervous behavior. "Why don't you like Hitsugaya Taicho?"

Tatsukichi wiggled a bit, before reaching up one hand to scratch his neck while Renji blinked a couple of times at the other male fukutaicho. "So... he really is a taicho? I didn't know there was even a position free."

"So... you told people that he's a taicho?" The red haired fukutaicho shook his head. "How did Momo react to that considering the fact she made a promise to him not to say anything to his village?"

"She was upset, but I reminded her that we hadn't made any such promises. Plus... what are we supposed to call him? We do owe him the respect her deserves."

"How about 'the brat'," Renji piped up, bringing his arms behind the back of his head.

Kira sighed. "You would say that, wouldn't you." He then turned back to Tatsukichi. "There is something that I am wanting to ask you that I can't ask Hitsugaya Taicho and Hinamori's granny in front of them. The man running the candy shop said that there was an incident when he was younger where Hitsugaya Taicho almost drowned. He said that there was a time that he was in fact physically bullied."

The boy blinked. "I don't remember anything about him almost drowning, but I do remember that a man did in fact drown. I also remember before that man drowned that the adults would push him around a lot and sometimes it escalated into something more, but nothing more then a bloody lip. After that, the adults told us to stay away from him. We all figured it was his fault because he brings bad luck with him where he goes."

"So the children around his and Hinamori's age ostracized him because the adults made them believe that Hitsugaya Taicho was dangerous to be around when in reality it was something else." Kira folded his arms.

"What do you mean something else?" Tatsukichi's nervousness lessened.

Renji poked him in the chest. "It really is none of your business with the way that you treated him."

"Yes... well..." The boy looked away. "I'm not one of the ones holding to the idea to treat him differently, but my mother is."

"That's why she sent over the treats." Kira narrowed his eyes. "She heard he was injured and decided to get on his good side because he is a captain. What about your sister?"

"She... Ayumi doesn't like mother's plan anymore then we do. She's simply following proper etiquette."

"Plan..." One of Renji's eyebrows went up. Before they could go any farther an argument came from inside the house, causing them to head into the house to see what the two foster siblings were arguing about.


	15. Home Stay: Part VIII

**Liking Oneself II  
>Thank You<br>~****Home Stay (Part VIII)******

The village that Toshiro and Momo grew up in was a small, quiet village with few to no occurrences. At least this was the way the village viewed itself, particularly after the white haired child had disappeared. They could pretend that he didn't exist as they never saw him and they grew to think that the they would never have to see or deal with the boy again. The newer children thought the white haired child was a monster of stories, a kind of hollow that would get you if you misbehaved.

No one expected Hitsugaya Toshiro to ever show up again.

Tatsukichi and Ayumi though were out doing an errand for their foster mother when they happened to notice the group of Shinigami coming their way. They had just come out of the small house they lived in with that woman when they heard Hinamori Momo calling out to them. "Tec-chan! Ac-chan!"

The eyes of the young adults took in the group, first noticing Momo and then the two other fukutaicho that were with her. Tatsukichi leaned over to Ayumi, whispering as he did so. "Isn't that... _him... _on that man's shoulders. And isn't _he_ wearing a Shinigami uniform."

Ayumi shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I mean... wouldn't Momo-chan have told us that he had become a captain. She wouldn't have hidden it from us. I mean..."

"No! That is him!" Tatsukichi's whisper was approaching a point that it might be possible to hear him.

Both flinched when the blond haired Shinigami made the decision to approach them, taking a polite bow to introduce himself. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kira Kira, fukutaicho of the third division and this is Abarai Renji, fukutaicho of the sixth division."

The two moved closer together, not sure what to say to the strangers, only to back up as the red head suddenly came closer. Momo of course was oblivious and Ayumi tried a polite retort back. Tatsukichi of course had to bring up the question about Toshiro being a Shinigami before eventually reminding his sister that they had an errand to run. As they headed towards one of the small shops they ran into a small group of children being led by Tomoya.

The boy noticed the pale looks on their faces. "Is something the matter?"

Tatsuckichi opened his mouth to say something, only to be nudged by Ayumi as she shook her head to try and get him to say nothing. She spoke in a whisper to her brother. "Didn't Tomoya and Inaba want to both enter the academy, but haven't managed to get in. Where is by the way Inaba?"

"I don't know. And does it really matter." The boy turned his head to look at Tomoya. "Hinamori's little brother is back."

"_Him?_" The boy shook his head. "No wonder Inaba isn't feeling well today. He's back."

"Whose back?" One of the younger kids spoke up.

"I think they're talking about the monster that lives in the house with that old granny... the one that is supposed to come and eat you if you misbehave?"

"Where did that story come from?" Ayumi blinked a couple of times.

"Inaba and Tomoya!" The children went running off towards the small house giggling about wanting to see the monster.

Tatsuckichi glared at the younger boy. "You had better go and see that they don't get into trouble. Get them to stay away. You know how he is. He's..." The boy shivered. "... I don't want to be near him." They headed past the small shop and went and lay in the field for a short period of time. Tatsuckichi of course was not pleased with the idea that the boy was back. "Why? Things were going just fine without him here! When he lived near us we never knew when the other kids would mistake ours for theirs at night."

"Mother is going to want that rice."

The boy sighed and the headed to the store. When they arrived at the shop that sold rice, they couldn't help but notice the nervousness of the adults. They also seemed to be gossiping and the words "at the small candy shop" and "I can't believe it" and "it's not really possible" came out as well. The two shook their heads before heading back to the house. They settled down into a kneeling position, noticing that their foster mother was agitated.

Ayumi was the one that broke the silence. "What ever is the mater?"

"He's back. That child from next door. And to think..." The woman paused what she was saying and went to work cooking. "To think I'd have a change of plans like this."

Tatsuchikichi frowned. "So you found out about that boy being back? Did you also find out that he is a Shinigami." He watched as his mother turned to look at him, her eyes wide. "Did I say something wrong?"

"That child isn't a mere Shinigami. That child is a captain of the Gotei Thirteen." A silence fell over the room as the two foster siblings let what she said sink in. The woman continued to work. "Ayumi-chan... I want you to take over some of these sweets I'm making over there."

Ayumi paled. "But... he..." The girl swallowed. "He's scary."

"Ayumi... if you can marry a captain, you'll be set for life even if they end up dying. He's not feeling well, so we can get on their good side."

The small female shook her head. "I don't like this. There is an age difference. He's also not going to forget the way he's been treated. And... he's a child for crying out loud!"

"He's a captain, not a child."

Tatsuchikichi frowned. "This isn't going to go over well. Those Shinigami who are with them will know what is up even if Momo-chan is too dense. Plus, he's not dense at all. Every time I did something wrong, it always felt as if he knew."

"No. We need to do this to secure Ayumi-chan's future."

The two siblings looked at each other and Ayumi picked up the treats and headed over to the other small house. Tatsuchiki refused to go in with her and stood outside the door, thus she was there having to speak to the occupants of the house. She was glad when Renji and Kira left the place as being with the two females made things easier despite the fact Toshiro was still in the room.

Momo tugged on the boy's shoulder, trying to get him to turn over. Ayumi fidgeted a bit as she watched the two sibling. "_They're foster siblings like us, but I don't understand how Momo-chan could ever have considered him __a sibling._ _He's so not cute at all._" She found herself swallowing, not liking what she really came here for. "So... is your little brother really a captain?"

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped and the girl found herself clutching her clothing. Momo looked up at the girl, rather taken aback. "Where did you hear that?"

"My mother. I think... I think everyone now knows."

"This is why Kira shouldn't have said anything."

"Hinamori..." Toshiro's head tilted so that he could look at his foster sister. "... what's this about Kira saying something about... _that_?"

Momo continued to frown. "He said he was obliged to the same promise granny and I were to not say anything."

The temperature in the room dropped again. Ayumi looked around, a little concerned that nobody was saying anything about the change in temperature. Toshiro of course remained silent for a bit. "I'm not speaking to him. Stupid idiot." The temperature then began to return to normal and the boy lay back down.

Ayumi didn't like the silence, so she spoke again. "So... what division are you captain of?"

"Don't say _anything_ Hinamori."

"Why not?"

"Because..." The child taicho tried to move so that he was sitting, only to let out a yelp.

Ayumi watched as the boy's face suddenly paled, and his bright teal eyes suddenly switched from a look of utter disonance to one of childish pain. She also watched as Momo pulled back the sheets. "Are you hurting?"

"I'm fine. I just moved wrong."

"Kira's not here. But I guess I could do something about it as I do know healing kido. I just need..." The girl turned to look at her childhood friend. "Ayumi! Could you get one of the medicine bundles from Kira's pack?"

Ayumi of course complied, reaching for the pile of packs in order to find what she was looking for. The first one she opened contained white cloth at the top which she assumed was bandages. She pulled it out to look under it for the medicine, only to find that the item was a small haiori. Her eyes widened upon seeing the number ten blazened upon the back. "Tenth division? You took the place of Captain Shiba?"

A silence fell over the room. Toshiro of course paled, sitting up and letting out a pained sound again. Momo though blinked. The boy looked at his feet which had become uncovered. "That is none of your business."

"What do you mean none of my business? Captain Shiba was a... you didn't kill him did you?"

"My taicho _isn't_ dead." Toshiro turned to glare at the female, his words tight with anger.

Momo blinked a couple of times. "Shiro-chan... please tell me the medicine's not making you think along those lines."

"He's not dead Hinamori."

"Shiro-chan... I know you kept insisting he was alive when he disappeared..."

"I've proof he's alive!"

"Whether he's alive or not doesn't change the fact he abandoned you just like my captain did!"

The boy's eyes widened and he began yelling back. "My captain didn't abandon me! Don't you dare compare him to that stupid Aizen of yours either! There is a major difference between the two! Just! Don't go there!"

"I'll go there if I want to! Captain Shiba abandoned you! He abandoned the squad! He left you to pick up the pieces! If he hadn't left you wouldn't _be _a captain!"

"No! I wouldn't! And I'm only going to be a captain until he gets back!"

"He's not coming back!"

"What is going on?" Renji's voice caused the two to stop fighting. Momo looked at them in surprise, but Toshiro's face was twisted up in anger.

Ayumi turned to her brother. "Tatsukichi... Captain Shiba is dead!"

"He isn't dead!" Toshiro's words snapped up. "He's very much alive!"

Kira took a deep breath. "Yes. There is a chance that he is still alive. Most likely he is dead." He then turned to Momo. "Hinamori... you know not to push this particular button with him."

Renji frowned. "Again... what is going on?"

Kira shook his head. "It has to do with Hitsugaya's former taicho. It is best left at that as it is a sore subject for him."

"Left at that? It took us forever to convince him that Captain Shiba wasn't coming back and that he was dead."

"You _never _convinced me Hinamori. You're delusional if you think that."

"Hinamori! Stop talking about the subject!" Kira snapped. "Hitsugaya Taicho... talk about it all you want, but if you're not careful I'll give you an extra dose of your medicine to completely knock you out.!"


End file.
